The present invention herein described relates to a sanding roll that is filled with air wherein an abrasive cloth sleeve mounted thereon is locked in place by the expanding rubber socket.
Sanding and polishing, particularly of wood but also other materials, with sandpaper and abrasive cloth are time consuming work that is made easier by using sanding rolls in different configurations. One commonly occurring problem with many sanding rolls is that they are too hard and cause vibration, they cause grades and remove too much material instead of being soft and flexible so that an even and smooth surface is created while maintaining the desired shape. Air filled rubber sanding rolls having endless bands of abrasive cloth have provided a solution to this problem for a long time. The technical construction of these rolls has not made it possible to make them in small dimensions while maintaining the same or similar level of usefulness.
One object of the present invention is to provide sanding rolls having small dimensions while keeping or even improving the areas of application compared to conventional air sanding rolls. To solve this problem, a valve construction has been invented that has an air inlet drilled along a center line of the driving axle and which hole terminates in the inside of the sanding roll. The air is let out by loosening a nut that holds the upper spacer in place.
More particularly, the pneumatic sanding roll of the present invention has an elongate housing with an outside driving axle separated from an inside portion by a large diameter disc. An air supply channel extends in the housing from the driving axle to a mouth of the inside portion. A spacer is in operative engagement with the driving axle and the disc. A semi-spherical hollow flexible rubber socket has a bottom edge portion and includes an opening. The bottom edge portion is captured between the spacer and the large diameter disc so that an enclosed cavity is defined inside the rubber socket. An abrasive semi-spherical cloth sleeve encloses the rubber socket and is locked to the rubber socket when the rubber socket is filled with air and expanded. A rubber tube is sealingly arranged about the inside portion to cover the mouth of the air supply channel to prevent air in the cavity from leaking back out through the air supply channel.